The Functional Path is a path that had been traveled many times before but had fallen out of use in favor of smoother paved roads that promised faster and easier results. Seeking to follow and better define the functional path is a continuing journey, fortunately it is a journey that many have traveled before. Functional Path training is getting back to the basics of movement. It is learning to tune into the body and it’s inherent wisdom to produce rhythmic flowing movement.

The mission of this program is to develop a cadre of experts to define the field of Athletic Development by educating professionals in foundational principles and methodology. Apprentorship = Apprenticeship + Mentorship, combines the features of both into a unique interactive blend of theory and practice in a five-day residential coaching school. This is an opportunity to observe, question, and explore the application of the Gambetta Method - Systematic Sport Development Model of training and injury rehabilitation.

March 06, 2013

Reading

This is from today’s NY Times Opinion Page. http://tinyurl.com/aj3ktcaAlthough the article is about Mexico, it could be about the United Sates. This
is a powerful statement that needs our attention as a nation. We are turning
out generations of dolts who can check boxes on standardized tests and text
like crazy on their so-called smart phones, but they are functionally illiterate.

“We have turned
schools into factories that churn out employees. With no intellectual
challenges, students can advance from one level to the next as long as they
attend class and surrender to their teachers. In this light it is natural that
in secondary school we are training chauffeurs, waiters and dishwashers.”

“This is not just about better funding. Mexico spends more
than 5 percent of its gross
domestic product on education — about the same percentage as the
United States. And it’s not about pedagogical theories and new techniques that
look for shortcuts. The educational machine does not need fine-tuning; it needs
a complete change of direction. It needs to make students read, read and read.”

This does not bode well for the future of our society. As many
of you who read this blog regularly know I am a serial bibliophile. Thank God
my mother encouraged and facilitated me to read. Any success I have had in my
professional life has been due to this. As professionals we need to speak out
and get our leaders to recognize the importance of reading.

Comments

Reading

This is from today’s NY Times Opinion Page. http://tinyurl.com/aj3ktcaAlthough the article is about Mexico, it could be about the United Sates. This
is a powerful statement that needs our attention as a nation. We are turning
out generations of dolts who can check boxes on standardized tests and text
like crazy on their so-called smart phones, but they are functionally illiterate.

“We have turned
schools into factories that churn out employees. With no intellectual
challenges, students can advance from one level to the next as long as they
attend class and surrender to their teachers. In this light it is natural that
in secondary school we are training chauffeurs, waiters and dishwashers.”

“This is not just about better funding. Mexico spends more
than 5 percent of its gross
domestic product on education — about the same percentage as the
United States. And it’s not about pedagogical theories and new techniques that
look for shortcuts. The educational machine does not need fine-tuning; it needs
a complete change of direction. It needs to make students read, read and read.”

This does not bode well for the future of our society. As many
of you who read this blog regularly know I am a serial bibliophile. Thank God
my mother encouraged and facilitated me to read. Any success I have had in my
professional life has been due to this. As professionals we need to speak out
and get our leaders to recognize the importance of reading.